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Sunday, 5 July 2009

On Wednesday 24 June, members of the Dutch branch of the Brussels Bronte Group met in Leiden, and enjoyed a splendid afternoon.

Leiden has the oldest university of the Netherlands, and it is to its library that we went first. We saw some very nice old publications about the Brontes, and an 1849 Dutch translation of Jane Eyre.

The third picture is from the 29 January 1853 edition of The Athenaeum, with advertisements for Villette (“This day is published ..”) and Mrs. Gaskell’s Ruth. A few weeks later they published a lengthy review of Villette. Right at the beginning it says the novel is set in Brussels, which makes one wonder how the writer knew that for sure. Even though it was only thinly disguised, he (or she) must have had inside information.

We also saw, among other things, the first editions of the Bronte Society Transactions, dating from the end of the 19th century.

Afterwards we went to the Hortus Botanicus garden nearby, where we had a drink first, and a walk through this splendid garden later. We saw several trees which began their life in 1818, the year of Emily Brontë's birth.

Wednesday, 1 July 2009

On Sunday 28 June a group of us rounded off the 2008-2009 Brontë year with a brunch at l'Orangerie du Parc d'Egmont. This restaurant's terrace proved to be a perfect choice for the start of what turned out to be a very hot and sunny week.

We discussed plans for activities for the coming year. An exciting new venture is that one of our members has offered to lead guided walks around Brontë places in Brussels in addition to those led by Derek Blyth, which will enable us to schedule more of these walks. Details of the first one will be sent out after the summer.

The Orangerie restaurant in a little park hidden away behind the Hilton near Avenue Louise is one of Brussels' best-kept secrets. It's near Avenue Toison d'Or where Mrs Gaskell stayed when she visited Brussels to research her Life of Charlotte Brontë.